On articles which, by their nature, are subject to regular, repetitive, or accidental movements, e.g., shoes, articles of clothing, portable bags, etc. fitted with conventional zipper closures, the pull used to manipulate the slider is subject to undesirable, noisy rolling, and is capable of catching on or bumping into external objects with which it may accidentally come into contact.
To overcome these difficulties, attempts have therefore been made to impart to the pull of the slider one or several stable positions whenever the pull is not manipulated, thus preventing it from rolling and allowing the pull to be held in a position which avoids undesirable contact with external obstacles.
It has thus been proposed to equip the slider pull and the corresponding part of the article carrying the closure with a catch device, for example of the buckle-and-hook type, sometimes known as "velcro." Besides the fact that this solution can be implemented only for a single end closing position and not for several successive discrete positions, and is applicable even less in a continuous arrangement, it requires additional cutting, sewing, and stitching operations which entail costs that are very high, if not prohibitive.
A device has also been proposed comprising, beneath the handle of the slider to which the pull is securely connected, a spring blade which exerts stress on the end of the pull so as to immobilize it in one or several stable positions with respect to the handle. This solution which, when compared with the preceding one, has the advantage of not depending on the momentary position of the slider along the slide track, is also very costly and not very reliable in relative terms, especially when the number of components and the problems of assembly and wear are considered.
Yet another solution, which, however, is applicable only to zippers in which complementary racks fit into each other, calls for fitting the pull with a hook which, when the pull is pressed down on the slide track only in the closing position, cooperates when engaged between the teeth of the racks to block any translational movement of the pull and the slider in this flattened position, for as long as any external action does not release it from this position. Because of problems of wear, and in order for it to remain reliable after a reasonable number of handling operations, the pull must be made of metal; furthermore, it damages to a greater or lesser extent the teeth of the racks with which it becomes engaged so as to effect immobilization, an arrangement which obviously affects their life.